Back from the Majesty

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Got back home at 3.15am today :eek::eek: so not up to a review yet!!

 

Fourth load of washing in the machine. DS decorated his room while we were away, so as he had to tidy it first ;) he must have found loads of dirty stuff! He did two loads, but the laundry basket is also full, so could be a long job!

 

We had a lovely time on the Majesty, but a few niggles. Will do a review as soon as I can :)

[geomagot]

good to have you back linda.... i hopes you had a good one:cool:

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Well here it is, hang the washing and ironing :D

 

First of all we had a lovely holiday, but this time a few reservations.

Our flight from Gatwick was delayed by one and a half hours, due to the earlier flight being delayed by thunderstorms. So we didn’t get to the ship until 10.30pm. Just time to have a quick snack in the buffet, unpack and then go to the late safety drill at 11.45pm :eek: Then off to bed for a nice long sleep.

 

Our first experience of the entertainment team was that they were not as good as usual. Saturday’s show was Mediterranean Nights, which basically was songs about Venice and Paris. One girl sang solo and was completely out of her depth and out of tune. The can-can consisted of 3 girls and was padded out by some of the boys. Monday was comedy night and it was Maxwell Plumm telling the same old jokes! Tuesday was Beatles Unlimited and this was the point when it all started to improve. Concerto Broadway, Africa and West End Wonders, which included Les Mis, were all excellent. Apparently Charlie, who we saw last year on the Spirit, and Harley, who we had not seen before, had been unwell at the beginning of the cruise and when they came back, the shows were much better. Charlie has a fabulous voice and she was sorely missed at the beginning.

 

The food was OK, but not as good as it had been on our previous Majesty cruises. We ate in the dining room for formal night, but chose the Piazza San Marco for the other nights, as did many others. Some nights it was difficult to get a seat in the buffet. The food was OK¸ not a lot of choice and the same vegetables every night but we always found something we liked. Soups and desserts were very good.

 

We had a few minor problems with the cabin. The air con was too cold, but we asked at Reception and that was quickly remedied as was a drawer that would not shut properly. One day our toilet would not flush, but I think we have had this on most ships we have been on. Seems it was all along our corridor and once again this was quickly remedied.

 

Formal night was the most informal I have seen, not many DJs and some came to the Captain’s cocktail party in shorts. In fact this cruise was very informal, compared to our last two trips on the Majesty. Not complaining, just saying!

 

The staff were friendly as usual, but some of the guests were not. We met and chatted to quite a few nice people, but there were a few big groups of people and I think if you are in a group you tend to stay in that group. To be honest we found people not so friendly as on the Oceana.

 

The ship was kept spotlessly clean, lots of crew cleaning everywhere, but no-one enforcing the hand gel!! I was glad to see they had placed some dispensers outside all the toilets, but noticed not everyone used them, especially the men! I freaked out one night when I saw some small pieces of carpet outside some doors on deck nine :eek: until DH pointed out they were not outside passenger cabins, but staff only doors – panic over!

 

The ports were mainly new to us.

 

Trapani was beautiful, we just wandered and had a nice cool beer and got free wifi in the Garibaldi Bar in Garibaldi Street. I bought a fridge magnet for €1 the cheapest ever I think.

Civitavecchia – we used the FREE shuttle bus, but instead of dropping us by the fort, as it used to, it carried on into the town, so we had no idea where were. We walked back until we reached the fort, then carried on along the promenade to the beach. The promenade has been done up and is a very nice area. I decided, against DH’s better judgement, that it would be quicker to walk back to the ship than go all the way back for the shuttle bus – ha! What a mistaka to maka! Extremely hot, we were really flagging by the time we got back. Luckily Richard was walking back too and showed us the way. Not sure why the bus takes you so far up, but could be to make you walk through the shopping centre! It is certainly useless if you want to go to the station as it is completely in the wrong direction.

 

From Naples we went on an afternoon trip to Herculaneum, which is a fabulous place, but our guide, although a lovely person, did not have very good English! It spoilt it for us and I shall report this on my questionnaire (when I get it) When we got back to the port the coach took us to a door, where we had to climb a huge staircase, then go through a shopping centre (again!) and then down a lot of steps to get back to the ship. If they do this to you, turn right from the coach and walk along a little way and then walk towards the ship (all on the flat and no shops!)

 

Lipari was a gorgeous place, just ripe for wandering, which we did. Beautiful churches and lots of little shops. We climbed up to the cathedral, which had the most beautiful painted walls and ceiling. There were lots of cafes with free wifi. We were really impressed with Lipari. It was a tender port and for the first time ever, there were no tender tickets issued. People on trips went first, then it was just open tender. Strangely it seemed to work very well. We went down to deck two and found the queue going up the stairs, but we just joined the queue and off we went. Very good – much better than the chaotic arrangements on Oceana!

 

Sadly Crotone was a let down :rolleyes: Not sure why they decided on this place! We saw people queueing for a shuttle bus so joined the queue. One bus arrived and filled up, then one of the destination staff came and said it was only for people with walking difficulties and others could walk into town. Some did, but we rebelled as we had been waiting quite a while and we had seen a busload of able bodied people getting on the last one. So we got on the next bus and ended up in a very tatty town centre. Luckily we had a map and were able to make our way back to the ship, via the cathedral (more beautiful walls and ceiling) the castle and a park. We got back to the ship and went for some lunch and noticed there was beach and harbour to the left of the ship, but everyone was directed to turn right towards the town. (shopping again :rolleyes: ) Personally I would have preferred two days in Corfu, but of course it was the Italian Job!

 

So the last day and as we had a 9pm flight back to Gatwick, we booked a late checkout cabin for £35. It was available at 10am and we had to be out of our cabin by 10am, so we went to breakfast, then collected a key for the other cabin, which was 5 along from ours. Sadly the key didn’t work! So off to reception to get it sorted. We then caught the bus from the port gates to Corfu old town - €1.50 each way – bargain. What a beautiful place! We had only been through the new bit before, on our way to the airport and not been impressed, but the old town is fabulous, lots of little shops and the fortress where they have a lovely cafe with free wifi. Thinking of having a holiday there, especially as the Ventura price is going up now!

 

Corfu airport was dreadful as usual. We got through the booking in quite quickly, but as our plane was delayed (again!!) we had a long wait and the airport was packed. We took off an hour late and had a few bumpy bits, but landed back in Gatwick at 9.50pm, after circling the airport a few times!

 

We did notice that the drinks service was much slower than previously, especially in the Royal Observatory. Also a few little niggling things like putting the wrong day on the Captain’s cocktail invitation (Sunday instead of Saturday) and putting sail out of Venice in the Cruise News, when we were actually sailing out of Rome, stewards knocking on the door when we were still getting ready and no tablecloths on the tables at night in the buffet. Just little things, not enough to spoil your holiday, but a bit annoying.

 

Anyway, enough moaning! We enjoyed our holiday and would go on the Majesty again for the right itinerary, but so many ships, so many companies and so little time (and money :D )

Edited June 13, 2015 by CRUISIN LINDA

[kruzseeka]

Thank you Linda - for satisfying our interest in hearing all about your holiday - and deciding to hang the washing!! (Awful pun!) Also for such a comprehensive and informative review.

 

I was really interested in your ports especially those I'd not heard of before. Yes, we had the same experience of the Civitavecchia shuttle too - it took us to a car park area which I think is where you went and not much good for anyone wanting the train. I think it was when we were flying home from Rome on one trip so had a long morning free before transfer so like you just explored locally and found the promenade and did a good walk and also found it quite pleasant along there.

 

Yes I agree, Trapani and Corfu Old Town are lovely and so easy for DiY - certainly no need to do trips there. Glad you enjoyed Herculaneum (pity the guide was below par though). I think it's the most impressive archaeological site I've visited. I really got a sense of the town and life there - much more intimate and better preserved than others we've visited.

 

Your observations about the ship are interesting too - when you've done cruises on the ship before and on others you do notice little things which change or are different. Those are comparisons - not complaints but worth describing as that's the purpose of reviews so we can gather info and weigh things up to help our decision making too.

 

Really pleased you enjoyed the cruise though - now to the difficult bit - where to next? Which ship? Best deal? You have got one variable sorted though - at least you know when you want to go! ;)

 

Thanks again for a really interesting review and good luck with the search for the next one!! :D

[campolady]

Welcome back Linda - thanks for such a great review which I really enjoyed. Was especially interested to hear how you liked Trapani as we were somewhat disappointed with it last year - must have missed the best bits so theres a good excuse to return!

[joeholiday2]

Great review, thanks Linda.

 

Are they still using the bus park opposite the fire station in Civi?

That was supposed to be temporary for last year whilst they were doing the road works. It's a long way into the centre of town or the train station.

 

We walked it back to the ship from town and thought it was the right decision for us, we had Mum in wheelchair with us and that was a nightmare walk through the shopping district, Italians like to park across dropped kerbs :mad::mad:

 

Hold out for the best price on your P&O, we booked 5 weeks before for our Arcadia North cape and Norway in July, the money we saved will buy a wine package and some trips :D

It fluctuated quite a bit, and has just gone back up.

 

If you want to know what cabins are left go to a TA's page that has a cruise club in Chesterfield ;) and go to price it up, click on the cabin grades that are not guarantee savers. You can get an idea of how many cabins are left.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Ha ha Kruzseeka, I didn't notice the pun about "hang the washing" :D Actually it has rained almost nonstop since we touched down at Gatwick, so am having to use the tumbler. 5th load in and still more to do :( and you don't want to see the ironing pile :eek:

 

The P&O cruise we are tracking has gone up £200 while we were away :( P&O pricing is a complete mystery to me!

 

Brenda, we liked Trapani, but when we got to Lipari, we found that was our favourite place :rolleyes:

 

I will put some photos on facebook later.

 

Here's a photo of Lipari

 

[gillhalfpint]

Thanks for a lovely review.

 

In April, I got the shuttle into Civi early as I wanted to find wifi to check on an ill DIL, and got taken to what appeared to be a small bus station. There was a local guide there for folk, and a big sign for the bus to the station. I followed crew to find the wifi, but lost them and ended up in McDonalds but couldn't get the wifi to work, but had an excellent coffee. Went straight back for the shuttle to the ship to meet Ray though and missed where the beach was.

 

Would still go on Majesty as we enjoyed our last cruise on her.

[Little Nell]

Hi Linda. Welcome back!

 

Thanks for the very interesting review. I don't know how you manage to do all of that so quickly after coming back and also manage all the washing :D

 

Sounds like you had a very enjoyable cruise overall and are already tracking your next one :D We are looking at the same cruise for next year ;) but the prices are a bit high at the moment.

[kalos]

Glad to hear your cruise was good Linda and you had only a few little niggles which Thomson could put right easily enough if they wanted .

Read your carpet horror to Mrs K ...The look of horror :eek: (She was a fellow suffer same time/ship as you )

Nipped down to that big BOOT chemist today and got some of that hand foam that kills the virus ..

It was buy one, get one half price , same with the sea sickness tablets ;)

 

We have managed to book an aft cabin Balcony on next cruise ,so that should be good ,always fancied a go in one of them .:cool:

 

Joe Holiday2 ... Thanks for the heads up on how to check the vacant cabins ,handy to know .:)

 

Let you back to your tumble dryer now Linda , bet you could give a good review of that as well ;):D

Edited June 14, 2015 by kalos

[Langtoncouple]

Linda thank you for this. It was out first trip on the Majesty over a month ago. I agree about the food. we ate in the larger MD restaurant. I just think they are cutting corners especially the synthetic cream and the butter and I agree about the veg - broccolli and green beans most of the time. i preferred the Dream food but maybe thats changed too.

 

I thought the entertainment team was really good. There are 2 really good males (the John Barrowman lookalike and one of the others had a great singing voice) and one of the girls stood out too. I also like the young Monty Don dancer he was fantastic in fact they all were.

 

I also freaked out when I saw rugs outside door but as you say its the entrance to staff only and I think they are for wiping their shoes.

 

I suppose passengers differ all the time and its just your luck which passengers happen to be holidaying. We found the majority so friendly - yes there were the few grumpy moaning minnies. The good thing about the majesty we though is that here are so many sitting areas and there wasn't the rush to get out for the quiz after the early Broadway show had ended. Plus there was always entertainment going on in the large lounge immediately before the show. I preferred it to the Broadway show lounge even in spite of the pillars.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

.

Read your carpet horror to Mrs K ...The look of horror :eek:

Ha ha, at least I would get some sympathy from her. DH thought I had gone mad :rolleyes:

 

Let you back to your tumble dryer now Linda , bet you could give a good review of that as well

Ah the tumble dryer!! It got so hot that it started tripping the main switch of the fuse box off :eek: Luckily the sun came out so was able to put the washing out on the line :) Just spent and hour and a half ironing, now trying to get the dinner, type this and watch the England match! Multi-tasking - only women can do it! :D :D

[campolady]

Ah the tumble dryer!! It got so hot that it started tripping the main switch of the fuse box off :eek: Luckily the sun came out so was able to put the washing out on the line :) Just spent and hour and a half ironing, now trying to get the dinner, type this and watch the England match! Multi-tasking - only women can do it! :D :D

 

And I'm doing the ironing and preparing Dinner to avoid watching the England match! Well, at least it is keeping Hubby quiet.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

And I'm doing the ironing and preparing Dinner to avoid watching the England match! Well, at least it is keeping Hubby quiet.

England are losing :rolleyes::rolleyes:

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Linda thank you for this. It was out first trip on the Majesty over a month ago. I agree about the food. we ate in the larger MD restaurant. I just think they are cutting corners especially the synthetic cream and the butter and I agree about the veg - broccolli and green beans most of the time. i preferred the Dream food but maybe thats changed too.

Yes carrots, peas and green beans every night plus roast potatoes!

 

I thought the entertainment team was really good. There are 2 really good males (the John Barrowman lookalike and one of the others had a great singing voice) and one of the girls stood out too. I also like the young Monty Don dancer he was fantastic in fact they all were.

 

Charly Cole is a brilliant singer. She and Ben were on the Spirit last year. The chap who played Fagin was brilliant too.

 

I also freaked out when I saw rugs outside door but as you say its the entrance to staff only and I think they are for wiping their shoes.

We used to walk along deck 9 to get to the Royal Observatory from the buffet. I noticed a bit of a smell (you know the one I mean) and then saw the mats, so put 2 and 2 together and made 5 :o

[Vitalsign]

Docked in Kusadasi currently and just read this thread

This is my second cruise on Majesty and having sailed many times on Celebration and Dream I unfortunately disagree with the writer about the friendly staff The Eastern European bar staff and waiters we have found to be brusque and rude and to be in this instance 2 women travelling together are incensed that the woman behind the pool bar ignores us and serves the men first whenever she can get away with it. They are not a patch on the Indian or Philopino staff who remember your name, what you drink and go about their work with smiles, politeness and good humour.

As we walked out of the port it was nice to see a coach load of Philopinos arriving so maybe things will improve

Agree about the poor choice of vegetables available and miss the free ice cream but overall the foods ok but not as good as Celebration and Dream since the new caterers took over.

Quite a few first time cruisers on this week who are all disappointed they can't have a Sunbed round the pool but have reassured them that the other ships do and to give them a try

Show team not up to usual standard in my opinion - they need a true baritone and one of singers seems to be out of breath most of the time and one of the girls sings out of tune and sharp

Yesterday we were in Mykonos anchored and Spirit came into dock at lunchtime it was nice to see her again as my first Thomson cruise was on her many years ago and haven't seen her since but disappointed that we didn't sail out together and wave to each It was such good fun doing that when OV and OV2 were in dock together.

PS cabins are in need of a facelift on Deck 4 don't know about the others

Temperature tomoz in Athens expected to be 97f glad I'm not going up to the Acropolis!!!

Can't wait to get on Celebration in Sept

[CRUISIN LINDA]

We found most of the staff friendly,obviously you do do get the odd one who is a bit sharp, but I think I would be grumpy sometimes if I had to work their hours. It must be hard to keep a smile on your face all the time.

 

We thought the entertainment improved as the week went on and certainly improved when Charly Cole came back. As I said Africa and West End Wonders was brilliant.

 

Our cabin (426) was fine, but when we went to our late checkout cabin (436) we found the basin had been patched up with paint round the plughole, the toilet seat was PINK:rolleyes: and the fridge door had no bar to hold drinks, so I guess what cabin you have affects your opinion.

[happy v]

Welcome back Linda. Holidays are hard work before you go, and when you get back. It makes you wonder why we bother!!:eek:

 

I'm glad you enjoyed it and wait to hear where the next one will be.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Welcome back Linda. Holidays are hard work before you go, and when you get back. It makes you wonder why we bother!!:eek:

 

I'm glad you enjoyed it and wait to hear where the next one will be.

 

Still tracking the Ventura for September, but we really liked Corfu Town and might do a hotel holiday.

 

Can anyone recommend a hotel in Corfu, not too far from Corfu Town?

 

We also would like to go back to the Rocamarina in Mallorca :rolleyes:

 

Decisions, decisions :D

[happy v]

Still tracking the Ventura for September, but we really liked Corfu Town and might do a hotel holiday.

 

Can anyone recommend a hotel in Corfu, not too far from Corfu Town?

 

We also would like to go back to the Rocamarina in Mallorca :rolleyes:

 

Decisions, decisions :D

 

We went to Corfu for our honeymoon and stayed in an hotel just around the headland. I doubt it's still there, it was 40 years ago :eek:.

 

I think the best hotels are out of the town, but they probably have shuttle buses. The beaches are fabulous though. Look at Paleokastrikta (sp?) and Glyfada.

 

You will have to be patient for once and wait until you find out if Greece defaults before you book anything. It cost nothing to look though.;):D

[CRUISIN LINDA]

We went to Corfu for our honeymoon and stayed in an hotel just around the headland. I doubt it's still there, it was 40 years ago :eek:.

 

I think the best hotels are out of the town, but they probably have shuttle buses. The beaches are fabulous though. Look at Paleokastrikta (sp?) and Glyfada.

 

You will have to be patient for once and wait until you find out if Greece defaults before you book anything. It cost nothing to look though.;):D

 

Ha ha Vera, you know me so well :D:D

 

Our honeymoon was 45 years ago :eek: We went to Paris.

 

I just asked DH where he would like to go for our anniversary and he said the Rocamarina in Majorca. I don't think he can cope with Corfu airport, twice in one year!

 

Re Greece, they were saying on Radio 4 this morning, to take cash to Greece and not to rely on banks and cash points.

[rookery]

Well here it is....

 

Formal night was the most informal I have seen, not many DJs and some came to the Captain’s cocktail party in shorts. In fact this cruise was very informal, compared to our last two trips on the Majesty. Not complaining, just saying!

 

I don't often get the chance to 'dress up' so me in my DJ and Mrs Rookery in her posh frock for the captains do is an integral part of the cruise experience for us. The lowering of standards is disappointing to say the least.

[happy v]

Ha ha Vera, you know me so well :D:D

 

Our honeymoon was 45 years ago :eek: We went to Paris.

 

I just asked DH where he would like to go for our anniversary and he said the Rocamarina in Majorca. I don't think he can cope with Corfu airport, twice in one year!

 

Re Greece, they were saying on Radio 4 this morning, to take cash to Greece and not to rely on banks and cash points.

 

I'm definitely with your DH on Corfu airport.

 

Before we started doing mainly cruises I had Rocamarina on my list..........you never know, one day.;) I think it's the best option at the moment anyway.

Edited June 18, 2015 by happy v

[CRUISIN LINDA]

I'm definitely with your DH on Corfu airport.

 

Before we started doing mainly cruises I had Rocamarina on my list..........you never know, one day.;) I think it's the best option at the moment anyway.

Lovely hotel Vera, went there twice in 2013.

 

Cala d'or is the only place I have been abroad, where I have said, "I could live here"

[Satnav22]

Hi Linda

We were on Majesty the week before you and it is funny but we had the same problems with the cabin (347) down to the ill-fitting drawer. We ate in 7 Seas most nights and found it fine. I have to agree also about the show team too, Charly is by far the best in the group and carries the rest of them.

We had a hotel week after the cruise so spent a bit of time in Corfu town and also loved the old bit

anyway glad you enjoyed your trip as we did but I think that for us a change of cruise line for the next one may be on the cards, just for something different.